{"id":7735,"date":"2017-12-13T15:44:13","date_gmt":"2017-12-13T14:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.small-improvements.com\/?p=7735"},"modified":"2017-12-13T15:44:13","modified_gmt":"2017-12-13T14:44:13","slug":"how-to-grow-and-scale-culture-like-reddit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.small-improvements.com\/blog\/how-to-grow-and-scale-culture-like-reddit\/","title":{"rendered":"How to grow and scale culture the Reddit way"},"content":{"rendered":"

We recently hosted the People and Culture team from <\/span>Reddit<\/span><\/a> in Berlin. In a fireside chat, <\/span>Katelin Holloway<\/span><\/a>, VP of People & Culture and <\/span>Farah Kassam<\/span><\/a>, Director of Talent Development shared why culture is important, how HR can grow and scale culture in a high-performing environment, and how culture ties in with performance management.<\/span><\/p>\n

Holloway joined Reddit in early 2016 as their first executive HR hire. She recruited Kassam and together they grew the People & Culture team, built the new culture of Reddit, and nearly quadrupled the employee count from 75 to 270.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was an inspirational evening packed with insightful knowledge and actionable advice. Below are our key takeaways with links to see more on each topic. And if you can, take the time to watch the whole fireside chat \u2013 it\u2019s well worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n

To grow and scale culture, don’t focus on the \u201cwhat,\u201d but the \u201cwho\u201d and the \u201chow\u201d<\/h2>\n

More and more companies are focusing on being intentional with their company culture. But what exactly do <\/span>we mean by culture\u00a0(18:54<\/a>)<\/span>? Holloway argued culture is about the \u201cwho\u201d and the \u201chow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s who you\u2019re working with, having that value set alignment and making sure how you\u2019re working together feels good. The \u2018what\u2019 doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first step toward establishing culture was to <\/span>build the foundation (11:54<\/a>)<\/span>, which focused on getting to know people and building trust. Frameworks were developed from the ground up \u2013 from identifying what Reddit employees called themselves to their values to how they wanted to achieve business goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To maintain the newly established culture during company growth, Kassam shared that bringing recruitment in-house also played a crucial role.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to hire people who understand who we are. And I want to be upfront about our challenges and company trajectory,\u201d she said. That\u2019s why, she added, \u201chiring people who aligned with who we want to be, and building trust and relationships between new and existing employees,\u201d were key components.<\/span><\/p>\n

We all know trust is important, but how do you <\/span>build trust (47:30<\/a>)<\/span>? The speakers offered three pieces of advice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Holloways\u2019 first recommendation was to listen and adapt. She shared that she spent the majority of her first three months at Reddit connecting with its then-75 employees through conversations as well as through surveys.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Event<\/p>\n

The second tip was to honor the history. \u201cHear the history and document it. If you don\u2019t have a written history, as new people come in, you either run the risk of repeating past mistakes or making people feel their work was not valued,\u201d Holloway explained. \u201cInstead of coming in and telling people this is what our values are going to be, it\u2019s about integrating and having a genuine appreciation for what has come before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, Kassam emphasized the importance of following through on what you say. Build trust through your actions, after making sure these actions are appropriate and aligned and people are on board with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are three layers of culture, two of which organizations must be more intentional about<\/h2>\n

Holloway outlined <\/span>three layers of culture (27:20<\/a>)<\/span>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n